Born in 1966 in Busan, KWAK was a film student at New York University. He made his feature debut with < 3 p.m Paradise >(1997). His first big break came with < Friend >(2001), which became the biggest hit in 2001.

[HanCinema's Box Office Review] 2015.07.10 ~ 2015.07.122015/07/13, Kim Hak-soon's "Northern Limit Line" back on song…Kim Hak-soon's war drama "Northern Limit Line" returned to the top of the pile this past weekend after having been dislodged last week by the hard-hitting "Terminator Genisys". Kim's war drama did this by capturing 26% of the box office pie (872 thousand admissions), and so moved its total tally onto 4.6 million ($31 million). Last week's number one, the fifth in the "Terminator" series, fell two places to settle in third with 647 thousand (21%), while second place went to the critically acclaimed new Disney and Pixar feature: "Inside Out" by Pete Docter,...More

[HanCinema's Film Review] "The Classified File"2015/06/20,
The time is the late seventies in Busan. The South Korean dictatorship is in full swing, but as is often the case, this isn't something that most common citizens necessarily notice on a day-by-day basis. Just because the central intelligence bureau can capture and torture citizens on flippant reasons doesn't mean they can do something more obviously useful like, say, apprehend a kidnapper. That's the main hurdle facing detective Gil-yong (played by Kim Yun-seok). The police just aren't used to trying to find people who are making an active effort to hide,...More

The Classified File (2015)2015/06/19, Source, "The Classified File"
Genres: Crime and Drama
Running Time: 107 min.
Directed by: Kwak Gyeong-taek
Starring: Kim Yu-seok, Yoo Hae-jin, Song Young-chang, Jang Young-nam
Synopsis: A veteran detective receives a special request from the parents of a missing child to investigate her case. As the clever kidnapper eludes the police, the case becomes more and more of a mystery. When a fortuneteller foretells the child's whereabouts, people get to listen to what he says. He also tells that the detective is the only one who can save her. With no one to trust, the two come closing in around the kidnapper using any means possible,...More

"The Classified File", based on a true story2015/05/06, Source, While the movie "The Classified File" is being released this coming June, the subject of the story is the issue at the moment.
"The Classified File" is based on a true story in 1978 about a detective and a shaman finding a missing child through fortunetelling. A child in Busan was kidnapped twice in 1979 and that's where the story starts. In the second kidnap, the ransom was at an astounding 150 million won and a hypnotic investigator was recruited for the first time in Korea. Even the president released a statement in front of the public,...More

[HanCinema's Hall of Fame Review] "Friends 2": Return to Ruin?2014/06/14, In the Spotlight this Week:Kwak Gyeong-taek's "Friends 2"...
As the credits rolled on Kwak Gyeong-taek's "Friends 2" I was, perhaps unjustifiably, reminded of a quote by Orson Welles, that "if you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story". Now while Kwak's 2001 blockbuster "Friend" can't be accused of having ended 'happily', the film itself was indeed a great story well told; one that immediately elevated itself into the history books as a modern Korean classic. But it was its story that ended happily, in record-breaking royalties, and proclaimed Kwak as an attuned talent with a flair for character-driven drama and tragedy-but a film that perhaps should've been allowed to rest in piece, not pieces,...More

[HanCinema's Image Gallery] Kwak Gyeong-taek's "Friends 2"2014/06/07, A Selection of Shots from Kwak Gyeong-taek's "Friends 2"...Kwak Gyeong-taek's 2001 film "Friend" became the highest grossing Korean film of its day, attracting over 8 million filmgoers to a fratricidal gangster flick that remains a modern Korean classic. Over 12 years passed since Kwak's Busan brawlers made history, and in 2013 he treated fans to a second installment: "Friends 2". The film takes place 17 years after the original and deals with the distance aftermath of that brotherly meltdown as the next generation of gangsters are ushered. Enjoy! [spoilers],...More

[HanCinema's Afterwords] KOFIC Podcast Review - Ep. 52014/01/25, In this Episode: Pierce has a chat withfilm critic Jason Bechervaise about six period films coming in 2014…
KOFIC recently launched "Korean Cinema Today", a bimonthly podcast that's all about the wonderful world of Korean cinema. Hosted by Pierce Conran, the show features the latest Korean cinema news, features, discussions, and interviews with special guests from the industry.
In episode 5 Pierce has Korean film critic, journalist and academic Jason Bechervaise in studio to discuss the host of period films coming our way in 2014,...More

[HanCinema's Afterwords] KOFIC Podcast Review - Ep. 42014/01/11, In this Episode: Pierce gives us a news roundup and has a chat to independent film actress Kim Kkobbi…
KOFIC recently launched "Korean Cinema Today", a bimonthly podcast that's all about the wonderful world of Korean cinema. Hosted by Pierce Conran, the show features the latest Korean cinema news, features, discussions, and interviews with special guests from the industry.
This episode of KOFIC's Korean Cinema Today was divided into two segments, the first has Pierce discussing some Korean film news, and the second features an interview with actress Kim Kkobbi ("Breathless", "Pluto"). The first segment seems to be from last year and mentions the box office figures from the last week of December; but Pierce also highlights a few Korean news items that are worth mentioning again,...More

[HanCinema's Afterwords] KOFIC Podcast Review - Special Episode2014/01/04, In this Episode: Korean Cinema in 2013…
KOFIC recently launched "Korean Cinema Today", a bimonthly podcast that's all about the wonderful world of Korean cinema. Hosted by Pierce Conran, the show features the latest Korean cinema news, features, discussions, and interviews with special guests from the industry. In this special episode, Pierce has Darcy Paquet in studio to talk about the past year's big features, their top 5 films of the year, industry trends, as well as mention some of the big period films coming our way in 2014.
"Korean Cinema Today" is only four episodes in, and so while they are still finding their feet, the show is shaping up to be another fantastic new initiative by KOFIC. The show is hosted by Pierce Conran (editor of Modern Korean Cinema, Twitch Korean film correspondent, and writer for the Korean Film Council) and thus far he has already had interviews with Kwak Gyeong-taek ("Friend 2"), Lee Cheol-ha ("Hello Orchestra"), and has Darcy Paquet (one of Korea's leading and dedicated film critics) on the show to talk about 2003 (a landmark year for Korean cinema). In this special episode Darcy joins Pierce once again to discuss the incredible year that was 2013,...More

[HanCinema's Box Office Review] 2013.11.29 - 2013.12.012013/12/02,
It's not too often that a Korean sci-fi is able to come out ahead, and although Kim Hyun-seok's "11 AM" did so with the second lowest first-place total this year, it was still able to topple some big events in the process. "11 AM" claimed 377,165 (21.3%) over 512 screens to outplay last week's number one – Kwak Gyeong-taek's "Friends 2" – as well as the not-so-hot "Hunger Games" sequel "Catching Fire". Times are tough at the moment at the Korean box office, and so while the world (the U.S. in particular) is burning up over the Susan Collins's second novel adaptation, the hermit kingdom has withdrawn and spread it limited wealth over just a few worthy features,...More

[HanCinema's Box Office Review] 2013.11.22 - 2013.11.242013/11/25, Korea Proves Fire Retardant as "Friends 2" holds True...
Kwak Gyeong-taek's "Friends 2" held onto the top spot despite the arrival of the engrossing "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire". "Catching Fire" smashed the U.S. box office record for a November release, grossing a grotesque $161.1M as fans flooded the theatres to catch the second instalment of "Hunger Games" trilogy. However a slow Korean market proved incombustible in the face of this fiery U.S. action-adventure, choosing instead to re-elect Kwak's popular sequel as it moved onto 2.3 million admissions in its second weekend out,...More

[HanCinema's Film Review] "Friends 2"2013/11/22,
The film opens with up with a bit from the original "Friend". As if the title weren't enough, "Friends 2" makes a point of insisting that it is part of a legacy. But this isn't some sort of happy triumphant return to the silver screen for a storied franchise. "Friends 2" seems utterly determined to remind its audience that if there was any hope or sense of recovery from the end of the first movie, this is information that has long since fallen by the wayside. It's especially unknown for the new generation of gangsters who appear here.
This is the main problem with the film as a whole, though, is that it spends so much time in flashback providing context for everything that there's little in the present day storyline to grab onto,...More

[HanCinema's Box Office Review] 2013.11.15 ~ 2013.11.172013/11/18, Kwak Gyeong-taek's "Friends 2" blew the God of Thunder away in its first weekend out. Kwak's latest is the sequel to his iconic debut "Friends" (2001) – a landmark feature which earned 8.1 million admissions to became the highest grossing Korean film since the nation's first real blockbuster "Shiri" in 1999. "Friends 2" broke the million admissions mark with the help of 968 screenings around the country, coverage that befriended 50.5% of all the filmgoers active over the weekend. Marvel's "Thor: The Dark World" was grounded due to unfavourable local conditions, dropping 47% from last week to just 346,931 (15.8%). Jeong Yeon-sik's webcomic adaptation "The Five" and the documentary "Black Gospel" were the new Korean releases that managed to crack a top ten finish, while Ridley Scott's "The Counsellor" was the only new foreign feature that was competitive,...More

[HanCinema's Film News] New Korean Films Inbound...2013/11/09, K-Films Coming Soon:
★★★★★ "Friends 2": A young gangster unknowingly befriends his father's killer but starts to suspect the connection.(11/14)
★★★★ "Dead End": A shamed producer heads out to film ginseng diggers but gets more than he bargained for.(11/14)
★★★ "Ingtoogi": After getting humiliated online, Tae-goo learns to fight in order to get revenge in the real world. (11/14)
★★ "Black Gospel": Korea's only gospel choir heads to Harlem to see if they have what it takes. (11/14)
★★★★ "Red Vacance Black Wedding 2": An obsessed creep refuses to take a hint when his love interest turns him down. (11/14)
★★★★ "The Five": A woman goes to extreme measures to enact revenge against her family's killer. (11/14)
★★★ "Beautiful Child": A story about a Korean missionary who charges through the rupture of natives and white people. (11/14)
★★★ "Kid Cast Away 2013": A young girl gets stranded on a South Pacific Island with her dog, but the two are not alone for long. (11/14),...More

Big-budget films to open in 2012 2012/01/05, Source,
A scene from "The Thieves", which is expected to wow movie fans this year with its A-list cast. / Courtesy of Showbox/Mediaplex
By Lee Hyo-won While 2011 saw the release of some novel, genre-defying works, not many local films aside from "Sunny - 2010" and "War of the Arrows" (a.k.a. "Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon") managed to draw crowds at the box office. This year, a lineup of big-budget films featuring the return of big stars await moviegoers,...More

Actress duo hosts open new chapter for BIFF2011/10/07, Source,
BUSAN ― The 16th Busan International Film Festival made sure Thursday's opening gala showed that Asia's largest cinema event was beginning a new chapter.
Not only does the festival assume a new name, with the outdated Romanization "Pusan" changed to "Busan" ― but this year's event will be the first to be headed by Lee Yong-kwan after founding director Kim Dong-ho stepped down. Both men took part in the event, alongside Busan Mayor and festival chairman Hur Nam-sik,...More

[HanCinema Korea's Diary] Introduce Yourself to Korean Cinema: 7 Films to Get You Started2011/05/28,
Are you interested in Korean cinema but don't know where to start? The following is a short list of films that I believe would give any film enthusiast a good grounding for what Korean cinema has to offer. They include award-winning films, films that provide insight into Korea's history and culture, as well as a couple of fantastic genre films that Korean cinema tends to favour.,...More

Which will it be _ teenage love and friendship, or the real, yet humorous lives of ruthless lawyers? Television fans will now have the chance to explore the two different worlds with the new dramas "Friends, Our Story" on MBC and,...More

Korean Movies' Popularity Rebounds This Summer2008/08/06, Source, The number of movie-goers in July jumped more than 21 percent compared to the previous month to 17-and-a-half million.
Korean movies in particular accounted for half of total screenings nationwide last weekend.
That's a rebound from their record low of 7 percent in May.
Korean-style Western movie,...More

New York Korean Film Festival this August2008/07/18, Source, The seventh edition of the New York Korean Film Festival is set to run August 22 – 31. Sponsored by KOFIC and The Korea Society, the event will screen more than 15 recent Korean features, of which 14 have been finalized for the line-up.

Amid the ongoing search for catchy, stylish, attractive ideas for local dramas, many drama-makers have turned to themes that have already been seen to be popular. Movie-based dramas are no longer new, but the,...More

No Wave, just a Korean breeze in Poland2008/04/28, Source, The Korean Wave has been spreading Korean pop culture across Asia and beyond for more than a decade, although it has barely reached Poland, in the centre of Europe. It is sad to admit, but Korean culture (traditional as well as the "new wave") does not exist in Polish minds as a distinctive identity,...More

In the star-studded gangster film "Fate", friends become foes and "pretty" actors get rough. Actor-turned-dire,...More

Soppy love story among Busan gangs2007/12/31, Source, I confess I would have cried a river if I'd seen "Sarang ('A Love')" when I was fifteen. That was how old I was when I saw "The Bodyguard" starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. I embarrassed my,...More

The 12th Pusan (Busan) International Film Festival (PIFF) featured "Evangelion 1.0: Your Are (Not) Alone" Friday, closing what has grown to become Asia's largest film festival after nine days of fickle weather and ambivalent responses. This year's edition featured a,...More

While the female persona Korean entertainment remains largely reminiscent of Hollywood during the 1950~60s, a few in recently released or upcoming films are beginning,...More

Movie Releases This Week2007/09/21, Source, Time now to check movies in cinemas.
There are two Korean movies getting attention this week: a drama and a romantic comedy.
There is also a Hollywood action thriller based on a novel.
Lee Jeewon has details.
The first love and its tragic consequence.
This theme has been dealt with for ages in,...More

Why not enjoy traditional Chuseok games at the theater? Lotte Cinema is offering moviegoers not only the latest films but also games in its multiplex theaters, Sept. 24-26.

Jegichagi is a simple game of kicking a jegi, a feathered ball, with your inner heal, keep,...More

Korean Films Recover at the Box Office2007/09/19, Source, Korean cinema is showing signs of recovery in the domestic market after a slow first half of 2007. Korea's leading cinema chain CGV announced that last month August recorded the highest monthly cinema attendance number, mainly because of the Korean films,...More

Some Romances Stay the Same2007/09/18, Source, As men still cling to their fantasies of a "pure, innocent, and fragile woman with long straight hair", even in the 21st century, so do women harbor dreams of their ideal man, even despite the "Pet Bo,...More

The Top Korean Movies by Box Office Takings2007/06/08, Source, As big Hollywood blockbusters start flooding our screens this summer, with every one claiming some box office record or other, the Chosun Ilbo for the first time rates the ticket sales of Korean movies, as opposed to audience numbers. The numbers come from movie distributors like CJ Entertainment, S,...More

What are the best days of your life? For the high school friends in Riverbank Legends it's when they hang out at night on their territory, a bare riverbank; a hard-won place they fought over side by side. For the friends in,...More

Organized by the Korean Culture Center in the U.K. and the Korea Culture & Content Agency, this year's festival will mark the year of mutual visits to South Korea and the U.K. The festival will screen eight domestic hit movies and fou,...More

Directed by Kwak Gyeong-taek, the film is a story about a face-off between two young men from the Sou,...More

"King and Clown" nominated for 15 categories of Daejong award2006/06/20, Source, The film "The King and the Clown" has been nominated for 15 categories at the 43rd Daejong Film Festival slated to open on July 21. The number is the most categories a single film has ever been nominated for in the festival's history. The runner-ups were "Typhoon" with 12 categories and "Welcome to,...More

Typhoon Landfall in the U.S.2006/05/31, Source, The Korean blockbuster "Typhoon" (Tae-poong in Korean) will be screened nationwide in major metropolises such as LA, San Francisco, Washington D.C., New York, Chicagofrom June 2nd.

PUSAN - A scene after the Korean War (1950-1953): A South Korean protagonist finally meets his North Korean foe in Pusan for the first time. As soon as they sense each other at the gate of a hotel, they grab for their guns and start firing.

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Kwak Gyeong-taek (곽경택)

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